Under the Influence : Tracing the Hip-Hop Generation's Impact on Brands, Sports, and Pop Culture

From the tricked-out rides they drive, technology they adopt, and brands they wear to the beverages they drink, music they listen to, and language they speak, the Hip-Hop generation influences brands, sports, and popular culture.

Out of pure necessity, these innovators have applied creativity and ingenuity against the backdrop of the urban landscape. They've used their influence to transform their music and culture into a lifestyle, attitude, and distinct set of brand preferences that are emulated and adopted by the mainstream. Along the way, the music and culture have transcended race and become an avenue for enterprise as these self-made Hip-Hopreneurs have redefined the American Dream and become catalysts for change in entire industries and global markets.

Understanding this ongoing effect is crucial to success in an increasing range of product categories, from automobiles to consumer electronics, entertainment, fashion, food and drink, mobile phones, sports, entertainment, tourism, and marketing many kinds of luxury and mass merchandise.

Author Erin Patton begins with his own journey as a product of Hip-Hop's Generation X in Pittsburgh's steel-tough inner city. Eventually he moved on to navigate corporate America's advertising and marketing worlds.

Patton uses his unique perspective to chronicle how Hip-Hop became a dominant social and economic force, building brands, and directly or indirectly influencing the aspirations and behavior of consumers of all ages.

Specific examples
Included in Patton's exploration are insights about Nike's Jordan brand, Stephon Marbury's partnership with Steve & Barry's, the use by the automotive industry of Funkmaster Flex, and the surprising developments behind some new alcoholic beverages.

Patton's award-winning 7 CiphersTM segmentation framework, which is included in this book, has been cited for its innovation by the Advertising Research Foundation and hailed as "Cracking The Code on the 21st Century Urban Market" by The Brookings Institution.

Using real-life case studies, rich insights and highlighting Hip-Hop notables who wield influence from the street corner to the boardroom, he illustrates how urban culture "software developers" and content creators determine which version of the culture will run on corporate America's mainframe each year.

A Generation of Entrepreneurs or Hip-Hopreneuers
In the Hip-Hop culture, awareness of new products and demand for them tends to arise organically and spread virally. Patton masterfully captures how companies can manipulate the organic process that occurs within the laboratory of the urban experience, and explains how the Hip-Hop generation's preferences, brand attributes, and penchant for design and product development can translate into huge profits.

Under The Influence provides marketers with a front-row perspective, strategic framework and market-tested solutions to grow market share and avoid common pitfalls in the urban-youth-inspired market without sacrificing existing customer loyalty.

Finally, a cultural marketing book that challenges (and wins!) conventional wisdom's perceptions about the Hip-Hop Generation. Patton's well-written, first-person voice provides authenticity, clarity, and insights, along with current marketing and real life examples that present a different perspective about this often misunderstood, yet valuable market segment. ----Pepper Miller, The Hunter-Miller Group, author of What's Black About It?

If there are any marketers out there that still think they can ignore the urban market, they'd better think again. As Hip-Hop culture and it's influence has poured out of the cities and spread around the world, the "urban market" has become "the market. This isn't just a book for so-called urban marketers, this should be mandatory reading for every marketer in the country. ----Adam Graves, Senior Vice President, Deutsch Advertising

Working with Erin Patton and The Mastermind Group has been a divine order from up above. It's rare when you are able to connect with a company that sees and shares the same vision. Starbury's mission was to change the world one person at a time and we did just that. Erin Paton will go down as a marketing genius in years to come and you can quote me on that. --Stephon Marbury, NBA star, entrepreneur